Spy Games: British Agency Has Hacking Tool to Control the Internet

British spy agency, GCHQ, has developed hacker tools to invade citizens' privacy and control the Internet, according to documents released by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The tools can seed the internet with false information, including the ability to manipulate the results of online polls, artificially inflate pageview counts on websites, "amplif[y]" sanctioned messages on YouTube, and censor video content judged to be "extremist."

According to The Intercept, the tools were created by GCHQ's Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG), and constitute some of the most startling methods of propaganda and internet deception contained within the Snowden archive. Previously disclosed documents have detailed JTRIG's use of "fake victim blog posts," "false flag operations," "honey traps" and psychological manipulation to target online activists, monitor visitors to WikiLeaks, and spy on YouTube and Facebook users.

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Here's a list of how JTRIG describes its capabilities:

• "Change outcome of online polls" (UNDERPASS)

• "Mass delivery of email messaging to support an Information Operations campaign" (BADGER) and "mass delivery of SMS messages to support an Information Operations campaign" (WARPARTH)

• "A tool that will permanently disable a target's account on their computer" (ANGRY PIRATE)

• "Ability to artificially increase traffic to a website" (GATEWAY) and "ability to inflate page views on websites" (SLIPSTREAM)

• "Amplification of a given message, normally video, on popular multimedia websites (Youtube)" (GESTATOR)

• "Targeted Denial Of Service against Web Servers" (PREDATORS FACE) and "Distributed denial of service using P2P. Built by ICTR, deployed by JTRIG" (ROLLING THUNDER)

• "A suite of tools for monitoring target use of the UK auction site eBay (www.ebay.co.uk)" (ELATE)

• "Ability to spoof any email address and send email under that identity" (CHANGELING)

• "For connecting two target phones together in a call" (IMPERIAL BARGE)

While some of the tactics are described as "in development," JTRIG touts "most" of them as "fully operational, tested and reliable." It adds: "We only advertise tools here that are either ready to fire or very close to being ready."

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About the AuthorJoshua Cook

Joshua Cook lives in Travelers Rest SC. He received his BA from Southeastern University and MBA from North Greenville University. Joshua also is a writer and sales director at TruthInMedia.com. His work has appeared on DrudgeReport.com, InfoWars, Breitbart.com, Daily Caller, TheWashingtonStandard.com and FreedomOutpost.com Follow Joshua Cook on Facebook and on Twitter: @RealJoshuaCook

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